July 20, 2021 at 7:50 pm Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to the media after a GOP policy luncheon, on Capitol Hill i on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell implored unvaccinated Americans Tuesday to take the COVID-19 shot, issuing a stark and grave warning of a repeat of last year’s rising caseloads and shutdowns if people refuse to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
McConnell urged Americans to ignore the “demonstrably bad advice” coming from pundits and others against the vaccines. As cases skyrocket, he noted that nearly all the new virus hospitalizations in the U.S. are among people who have not been vaccinated.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged Tuesday that a White House staffer has tested positive for COVID-19 and there have been other recent breakthrough cases of vaccinated staff members with mild cases. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House, got vaccinated against COVID-19 on Sunday after months of waiting, citing the rise of the delta variant and increasing cases and hospitalizations, primarily among people who are unvaccinated.
His decision, reported on Nola.com, comes as lawmakers and the White House try to reach those hardest to convince to get vaccinated, and those with limited access. The messaging is delicate as there are also mild cases among people who are vaccinated including in Washington, D.C.
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The variant s arrival on the Hill has shaken its slow return to normalcy.
Covid infections have crept back onto the Hill. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s trip to Israel got postponed. Nearly half of House members are masked on the floor again. One Senate Democrat even floated a “proof of vaccination” card to enter the Capitol.
As Covid infections have crept back onto the Hill, they ve shattered the sense of calm that had just begun to settle across the complex after the deadly pandemic and insurrection. After a weekslong trudge toward normalcy, fears are now spiking over the highly contagious Delta variant, which the Capitol physician confirmed Tuesday has been reported in Capitol office buildings.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that a White House staffer has tested positive for COVID-19 and there have been other recent breakthrough cases of vaccinated staff members with mild cases in a briefing on Tuesday.
Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House, got vaccinated against COVID-19 on Sunday after months of waiting, citing the rise of the delta variant and increasing cases and hospitalizations, primarily among people who are unvaccinated.
His decision, reported on Nola.com, comes as lawmakers and the White House try to reach those hardest to convince to get vaccinated, and those with limited access. The messaging is delicate as there are also mild cases among people who are vaccinated including in Washington, D.C.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House and U.S. congressional negotiators are scrambling to salvage a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal after Republicans balked at funding to enforce existing tax laws - a key way to pay for the plan - leaving both sides searching for a way forward.
FILE PHOTO: The sun rises on the U.S. Capitol dome before Joe Biden s presidential inauguration in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
Senators and Biden administration officials still hope to hammer out the deal, including a plan to finance it, for a Senate vote on Wednesday, but both parties were growing increasingly skeptical Tuesday.